Automotive News has revealed that the third Shelby Mustang in Ford's pony car corral will be a retail version of the Hertz Shelby GT-H rent-a-racer called the Shelby GT. The car will be a 2007 model and production will be at least a few thousand. No word if the Shelby GT will differ from the rental car in any way, either visually or mechanically.
The news was revealed to Ford dealers at a dealer meeting in Las Vegas last week, where it was also revealed that dealers should be preparing for production versions of the Ford Fairlane concept, which we already knew, and the Lincoln MKS concept, which was on an obvious track for production. The Lincoln MKS will arrive early in 2008 and the Fairlane sometime after that and maybe with a different name.
The dice have been cast on the Shelby
GT-H in Las Vegas where production of the limited edition Mustang has just begun at Shelby’s facility in the
city of sin. The resurrected “Rent-A-Racer” will populate the planet to the tune of 500 copies that will be
made available to rent through the Hertz Fun Collection at select airport locations nationwide later this year. With
325-hp on tap beneath the foot of any average Joe with a license, we think it might be a good idea to spring for the
extra insurance on this rental.
Click for gallery of 14 high-res images from the show floor
The Autoblog crew was on hand to witness the introduction of the 2007 Shelby Hertz GT350H "Rent-a-Racer", and Carroll Shelby himself climbed out of the 'stang to talk about his latest creation. Prior to the car's debut on stage, a quick video clip was played that showed the proper way to return the Rent-a-Racer to Hertz, with opposite-lock power oversteer apparently being an approved method of navigating the return lanes. The clip ends with Carroll in the driver's seat, stating "now that's what I call a rental car" -- very cool.
Our live shots of the GT350H are located after the jump - just click on the thumbs to see them in high-resolution glory. We hope ya like 'em.
In the wee hours of Wednesday
morning Ford quietly released these official pics of the Mustang GT350H (a.k.a. Rent-A-Racer). Some of the shots were
taken on location at a Hertz rental car outlet, which pays homage to the good ol’ days when you could plunk down
some cash and have your way with a Mustang for a day. No word yet on whether or not the Hertz of today will be offering
the GT350H in its lineup, though we’re hoping it will. Nothing could perk up our summer vacation more than
upgrading from a facile Focus to a 320-hp, black-and-gold striped Mustang with hood pins at the rental counter.
We’ll have more details on Ford’s resurrected Rent-A-Racer when it officially unveil the muscle
coupe at the show. Until then check out the rest of Ford's glamour shots of the new GT350H after the jump.
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